Model Recommendations
Guidelines for selecting Claude models (opus, sonnet, haiku) for plugin agents.
Model Overview
| Model |
Best For |
Cost |
Speed |
| Opus |
Complex reasoning, architecture decisions, security analysis |
Highest |
Slower |
| Sonnet |
Implementation, coordination, standard tasks |
Medium |
Balanced |
| Haiku |
Simple validation, quick checks, status queries |
Lowest |
Fastest |
Task-Type Recommendations
| Task Type |
Model |
Rationale |
| Architecture decisions |
Opus |
Requires deep reasoning, trade-off analysis |
| Security analysis |
Opus |
Critical thinking, vulnerability pattern recognition |
| Code review (quality) |
Opus |
Thorough analysis, edge case detection |
| Sprint planning |
Opus |
Strategic thinking, dependency analysis |
| Complex data analysis |
Opus |
Multi-step reasoning, insight generation |
| Code implementation |
Sonnet |
Fast, capable code generation |
| Coordination/dispatch |
Sonnet |
Task management, status tracking |
| Data transformation |
Sonnet |
ETL operations, query building |
| Documentation |
Sonnet |
Clear writing, structure |
| Simple validation |
Haiku |
Fast prop checks, schema validation |
| Status checks |
Haiku |
Quick queries, cost-effective |
| Quick verification |
Haiku |
Simple pass/fail checks |
Agent Model Assignments
projman (Sprint Management)
| Agent |
Model |
Rationale |
planner |
opus |
Architecture decisions, issue structuring |
orchestrator |
sonnet |
Coordination, parallel execution |
executor |
sonnet |
Code implementation |
code-reviewer |
opus |
Quality review, security analysis |
pr-review (PR Analysis)
| Agent |
Model |
Rationale |
coordinator |
sonnet |
Task dispatch, result aggregation |
security-reviewer |
opus |
Security vulnerability detection |
performance-analyst |
sonnet |
Pattern recognition |
maintainability-auditor |
sonnet |
Code quality checks |
test-validator |
sonnet |
Test coverage analysis |
code-sentinel (Security & Refactoring)
| Agent |
Model |
Rationale |
security-reviewer |
opus |
Security scanning |
refactor-advisor |
sonnet |
Refactoring suggestions |
data-platform (Data Engineering)
| Agent |
Model |
Rationale |
data-analysis |
opus |
Complex data insights |
data-ingestion |
sonnet |
ETL operations |
viz-platform (Visualization)
| Agent |
Model |
Rationale |
component-check |
haiku |
Simple prop validation |
layout-builder |
sonnet |
UI construction |
theme-setup |
sonnet |
Design configuration |
contract-validator (Compatibility)
| Agent |
Model |
Rationale |
full-validation |
sonnet |
Contract checking |
agent-check |
haiku |
Quick verification |
Configuration Schema
Agent-Level (Frontmatter)
Add model field to agent YAML frontmatter:
Valid values: opus, sonnet, haiku
Plugin-Level (plugin.json)
Add defaultModel for plugin-wide fallback:
Inheritance Chain
Model selection follows this precedence:
Example:
- Agent has
model: opus → Uses opus
- Agent has no model, plugin has
defaultModel: sonnet → Uses sonnet
- Neither specified → Uses sonnet (system default)
Cost Optimization Tips
- Default to Sonnet - Good balance for most tasks
- Reserve Opus for critical decisions (security, architecture)
- Use Haiku for validation and quick checks
- Batch simple tasks - Use haiku for parallel validation
See Also